China Holds the Key

By schw1223 on April 1, 2012 11:29 PM

China holds over 97 percent of the earth's rare earth mineral's that are used in things from car batteries to advanced energy technologies.

There are 17 elements that fall in to the rare earth minerals, but in reality they aren't rare, but quiet common. They are just found in very small amounts, which aren't cost efficient enough to mine reported National Geographic.

According to ABC News, the United States, Japan and the European Union have filed a complaint against China for the use to minerals. They feel that China needs to loosen its grip on their exports so that the price for these minerals will go down.

Many scientist are trying to find substitutes for these minerals to possible eliminate the high demand on them, reported National Geographic.

According to National Geographic, the complaint is being moved forward slowly within the World Trade Organization, and scientists from rare-mineral countries are hoping to find a substitute soon.